The present invention relates to cell phones and in particular to motion activation of cell phone functions.
Cell phones have become a common place accessory used by nearly all members of our society. Cell phones have provided tremendous convenience and efficiency by enabling communications from most populated areas in the United States. For example, sales people may now conveniently rearrange schedules, get directions, place or amend urgent orders, while on the road without returning to their offices. Busy parents may likewise keep track of their children, change plans, and the like while on the go.
Unfortunately, much of this communication is performed during other activities, such as driving, and often detracts from a driver's attention to the road and to other vehicles. In dim light or night situations, cell phone keyboard backlighting is provided to allow a cell phone user to see the various keys used to make calls etc. In order to conserve energy stored in the cell phone's battery, the backlighting is generally dimmed or turned off after a brief period of time. Due to the trend to smaller and smaller cell phones, the size of the cell phone battery has been decreased, creating an even greater need to dim or turn off the keyboard backlighting. As a result, the cell phone user often finds herself attempting to press keys or manipulate the cell phone to reactivate the keyboard backlighting, which distraction results in less attention being paid to driving, and creating potentially dangerous situations.
In other instances, a cell phone may be dropped, and again due to the small size, be very difficult to find in low light. It can be particularly difficult to find a dropped cell phone while operating a vehicle, and is a significant safety issue.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,187,952 for “Method of Accepting a Phone Call Based on Motion Properties of the Phone and Related Device” discloses a cell phone with a gyroscope for sensing motion. Unfortunately, the addition of the gyroscope adds complexity and cost to the cell phone. The '952 patent is herein incorporated in it's entirety by reference.